It’s Unanimous
But Is Anyone United???
No one cares, particularly, about my opinion on the Bipartisan Stimulus Package that passed the House yesterday. ’sok – I have no special knowledge on the particulars of the bill (of course, I fear our legislators have no particular knowledge either…).
The fact that no (not one, zero, zip, zilch) Republicans voted for it, however, is an historically interesting fact. I mean, usually someone (in either party) has reason to vote contrary to the wishes of his leadership, even if the reason is self-preservation. Politically speaking, taking a stance on a highly visible bill like this is a carefully calculated and calibrated exercise in vote counting and dollar counting. The politician is always asking himself: “Self? Does this help my next campaign more than it hurts, or not?” This display of unity on the part of Republicans can be celebrated as a show of strength (or party loyalty, or the triumph of principles over politics):
Fortunately, the GOP held the line this evening in a remarkable, powerful way. They may have lost the vote, but they sent a lasting message. They took a stand for principle and posterity. They took a stand against generational theft.
- or it can be seen as something else; the actions of party that has sunk so low that it has nothing left to lose.
Either way, we’re living in interesting times.
